Real Estate Agent · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2017 · 12 posts · 3 votes
Hi everyone,
I have a triplex that I just bought with my brothers in Richmond, CA, and I was wondering if anyone could give their opinion on how to collect rent without having to physically go up to the property? My brothers and I don't live close enough to go there every month. We are really hesitant about asking tenants to mail us their rent checks, and we'd rather opt for electronic ways to transfer money. I've heard that Pay Near Me is pretty good, but I was also just put onto Freshbooks and was wondering if I could use that to collect rent? Or maybe PayPal? If there's any other way to collect rent electronically, I would love to hear suggestions. All feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance!
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
Collecting money electronically is great. It doesn't work well with older people and lower income areas. But it is a growing way of collecting money. We do direct deposit, Chase Quick Pay and Pay Pal. I am sure there are other methods.
Rockville, MD · Member since 2017 · 3 posts · 1 vote
9y
Two of my landlords were comfortable letting me set up e-pay through my own bank (Ally). I believe Ally calls theirs PopMoney. Never had any issues with it.
Professional · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 8 posts · 3 votes
9y
Hey Andrew,
Something that everyone is getting and easy to use on your phone is Venmo or Cash (by square). Super easy app and works with every bank.
Chase quick pay is great, they are now https://www.zellepay.com/ and credit unions and other banks don't work as effectively as the two mentioned above. If you have a couple doors Venmo and Cash are great but when you start getting bigger. Yardi might be the way to go.
Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2017 · 43 posts · 18 votes
9y
We have used Venmo (or Cash App) which is no fees if it's bank to bank transfers, and relatively quick - just sent CashApp to instantly deposit any account balance after money is received.
The other option we have used with some responsible tenants - direct deposit. We set up a deposit account at our local bank, and give them the account number. 1st of the month comes around and once their rent deposit clears - we transfer the balance into our main account.
Venmo or CashApp would be my preference though. The other option with giving out a bank account number and the nuisance of keeping the money moving isn't worth it.
Investor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 1 post · 1 vote
9y
I've had great success with opening an account and requiring direct deposit.
A local bank in the denver area has branches just close enough to each property so it is not terribly inconvenient for the tenants.
Even when they ask if they can pay in cash or check I decline and remind them the lease states direct deposit only. Upon signing the lease I leave an envelope filled with deposit slips with account number and name of property so I know which deposit is from what house.
A newer tenant wants to pay electronically so I am exploring that. Thanks for the question.
Investor · Bastrop, LA · Member since 2017 · 32 posts · 14 votes
9y
Hi Andrew Domingues We use the PM version of Rentec Direct and have been pleased so far. Online payments is definitely the way to go, but as others have mentioned already, it's not popular with the older crowd.
Investor · Big Sky, MT · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 1 vote
9y
I only allow direct deposit and in-person deposits to my account (at a bank location). To make this reasonable, my bank account for my home is at a megabank that has tons of locations that they can use, even if they are on vacation and need to deposit money my way. The beautiful thing about direct deposit is that my tenants pay 1/2 of rent on each paycheck, which gets paid 2x a month. They were always late when they manually had to transfer funds in, or stop by a branch, but now they don't have to worry about budgeting their money so strictly. This sounds like I'm holding their hands, but it certainly took a load off of my plate, and they are good tenants otherwise.
I shy away from "the apps" as most of them are not designed for these types of services. Individuals can recall their money, the transfers can be public domain (venmo), they are likely breaching the terms and conditions for such transfers unless you/they incur the extra expense of having a paid subscription to said services. I'm not saying the convenience isn't there, I just know you're really sticking your neck out if you use a service which legally doesn't protect you. And don't you dare think that customer service is going to back you up when you were breaching their service agreement.
Rental Property Investor · Allentown, PA · Member since 2016 · 279 posts · 105 votes
9y
@Andrew Domingues I've been satisfied with my experience with Cozy.co My only gripe is that it takes a few days longer than I would like to have availability of the funds (3-5 days) but there is no cost to the landlord.
Orlando, FL · Member since 2017 · 147 posts · 92 votes
9y
There was an article somewhere on BP where erentpayment was recommended, so I went with them, and so far they seem great. Here's a link to the original article, with a breakdown of different services:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/pay-rent-online-payment-tools/
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
9y
@Andrew Domingues I have used Cozy for over a year and it works well for my eight properties. eRentpayment is similar but lacks the free option and payments clear faster. I have also had tenants deposit directly in my account at the bank.
Cozy Pros:
-Free
-Purpose built for smaller landlords
-Allows tenants to setup recurring payments or just do one-time payments.
-Landlord can add late fees or deduct off line payments.
-They have tenant application and screening (for a small fee)
Cons:
-Slow to deposit, even when you pay extra for fast deposit. But it shows pending so you know it is in process. Not a big deal unless you can't wait one week.
-Requires checking account or credit card. Not a big deal, but other services may be better for lower income properties.
Real Estate Agent · Stockton, CA · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 3 votes
9y
I do the same like @IsakWizard, once they sign the lease, I gave to them the Deposit Slip to make the deposit in the bank account. I have one Bank Account for each property ( all are Fourplex) total 16 doors, I make sure that ALL the rents are diferente, in one Fourplex, I know that $1,000 is Carlos, $1,005 is Veronica, $1,010 is Marcus and $1,015 is Reina. Once you get the deposit, you can edit the "credit" and write the tenants name.
Also each loan is paid from the same account automatically, I have one Home Depot credit card for each property and I have checks from each property to pay for repairs or garbage, water etc. Just make sure that everybody collect theirs dues after the 6th of each month. I can be traveling for month an no worries about the rents and payments.
Madison, WI · Member since 2016 · 53 posts · 23 votes
9y
Another vote for Cozy, simple, and free for a landlord. One time setup for the tenant then everything is automatic. It eliminates all the issues with other apps, checks "lost in the mail" and will report to the credit bureaus if they are late/default.
Rental Property Investor · Scotch Plains, NJ · Member since 2016 · 98 posts · 54 votes
9y
Chase Quick Pay with Zelle is great because most large banks use it as well. You can also use Venmo. It's easy to set them up and eat them going on it.
Vendor · Winnipeg, Manitoba · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 3 votes
9y
Just a thought; I manage about 70 units and I never physically go to properties to collect rent. Tenants are given a handful of options and if they want to write cheques every month or pay cash, it has to be delivered to my office.
Sherwood, OR · Member since 2016 · 23 posts · 25 votes
9y
Hey @Andre P.! This is Kayla from Cozy's support team. I just wanted to clarify that Cozy does allow renters to activate rent reporting to Experian's Rent Bureau, but we only report payments for tenants who choose to activate this option. This only reports successfully processed payments, so the tradeline would simply show "No Activity" for months where your tenants didn't send payments.
Hey @Andre P.! This is Kayla from Cozy's support team. I just wanted to clarify that Cozy does allow renters to activate rent reporting to Experian's Rent Bureau, but we only report payments for tenants who choose to activate this option. This only reports successfully processed payments, so the tradeline would simply show "No Activity" for months where your tenants didn't send payments.